News

Prof. Gillian Triggs to speak at national lawyers conference

14th Oct 2016

Human Rights Commission President Professor Gillian Triggs will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) annual National Conference being held in Port Douglas next week.

Former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery AM QC will also be a prominent speaker at the conference. In addition, the winner of the ALA’s prestigious Civil Justice Award will be announced on the first day. This award recognises individuals and organisations around the country who have displayed outstanding advocacy in their work for human rights and social justice.

With issues such as workers compensation, police accountability, the NDIS, human rights and asylum seekers on the conference agenda, members of the Australian legal profession should not miss this opportunity to keep abreast of the latest developments in these important and topical fields.

The two-day ALA National Conference is being held at the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort from Friday 21 October, 2016 from 8:30am and will examine legal issues ranging from ‘Life Insurance in the Spotlight’ through to ‘Family Violence – What Have We Learned and Where To from Here?’ and ‘Representing Australian Citizens Charged With Criminal Offences Overseas’.

ALA National President Tony Kenyon said the ALA National Conference 2016 would be an outstanding networking opportunity for the more than 170 personal injury, human rights and criminal law lawyers and other legal professionals who had already registered to attend.

Mr Kenyon said that the conference’s packed program demonstrates the ALA’s ongoing commitment to the professional development of its growing membership.

“This year the Australian Lawyers Alliance’s National Conference will hone in on the core issues which will give personal injury and compensation lawyers across Australia the edge in their practice,” Mr Kenyon said.

“Having Human Rights Commission President Professor Gillian Triggs as keynote speaker, as well as former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery AM QC, is a great testament to the quality of the conference and the issues to be discussed,” Mr Kenyon said.

Other conference sessions available for media coverage will include:

Future Economic Loss – Discounts, Double Discounts and the Death of Restitutio in Integrum: An examination of the differences in approach taken by courts in awarding future economic loss in psychological and physical injury cases – Travis Schultz, Schultz Toomey O'Brien

Life Expectancy – Recasting the Mould: Life tables, and when to go outside; countering the experts; and clinician v statistician, weighing the mix – Gerard Mullins and Susie Griffiths

Family Violence: What Have We Learned and Where To from Here? – Paula Shelton, Shine Lawyers